New Beers

Barely a day goes by without another seasonal or one-off special flying out of an Australian brewery (if not ten). Here and in our weekly newsletter, we'll bring you news and, if we've sampled them, our take on as many of them as possible. Happy hunting!

Bright Brewery

Aether Brewing Nocturnal Imperial Stout

Tapped August 23, 2020
In a piece of exquisite team management I managed to receive two separate write-ups for the same beer in my inbox within an hour or two of each other on Friday. So, given it's a whopper of a beer, why not run them both side by side? Mick Wust: Though I don’t usually drink sugar in my coffee, when I decided to try drinking espresso for the first time, I was determined to do it "the Italian way". It’s fairly standard for Italians to stir a teaspoon or two of sugar into their tiny cup… Read more
Style
Imperial Stout with Maple Syrup
ABV
11.7%
Stockists

From the Aether taproom, online and reputable stockists around Queensland

Wayward Brewing Cashmere Cat Hazy IPA

Tapped August 23, 2020
The Cheshire Cat from Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland is a mixture of wise and whimsical, crazy and cynical. It’s often quoted as some kind of patron saint of those wishing to break free of societal norms, with lines like: “I am not crazy; my reality is just different from yours” and “Imagination is the only weapon in the war with reality.” I can only assume Cashmere Cat is a reference to that iconic character, and this year we could all do with an ally in the war against reality.… Read more
Style
Juicy IPA
ABV
6.3%

Blackman's Brewery Needs More Sabro

Tapped August 22, 2020
Current circumstances dictate that the only beers passing my lips of late are those arriving at the doors of Crafty Towers, most of which come in the form of samples or care packages. As such, my personal checklist for the year isn't as extensive as when regular interstate travel for festivals and to catch up with beer world friends old and new was a regular occurrence rather than a wistful pipe dream. Yet, even if I'd managed to sample every beer coming out of Aussie breweries in 2020, it would… Read more
Style
Single Hop IPA
ABV
6.5%

Wolf of the Willows & Mörk Chocolate Kanelbulle

Tapped August 21, 2020
Not only have we got so many breweries releasing so many beers that even the unlikeliest of styles can land on one's doorstep twice in quick succession, we've even got beers with names that require guidance as to their proper pronunciation. Yes, just a few weeks after Two Birds released their twin Kalsarikännit beers, Wolf of the Willows tell us their latest nitro beer is to be annunciated "ka-kneel-bull-a". More importantly, however, what is it? Other than an excuse to pop the chef from… Read more
Style
Spiced Nitro Pastry Brown Ale
ABV
6.2%

Hargreaves Hill Fruitopia 2: Mango Crème Brûlée

Tapped August 21, 2020
Hargreaves Hill's second Fruitopia release has swapped berries for mango and thrown in a good percentage of the contents of the pantry too. The dessert-inspired sour Mango Crème Brûlée was brewed with the help of a literal tonne of fresh mango (which more than doubles the fruit content form Fruitopia 1), along with cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla and lactose for a soft and smooth(ie) beer ride. The mango certainly makes itself known, from the beer’s orange-yellow appearance to the intense aroma that… Read more
Style
Dessert Sour
ABV
7.0%

3 Ravens Wild Ravens Hay, Hops & Horehound & Nat Rav 2020 Yarra Valley Pinot Noir

Tapped August 21, 2020
The notes we receive from brewers when they release new beers vary greatly. Sometimes there's nothing more than what's on the label, sometimes there's a media release telling the story behind the beer. And then there's 3 Ravens, who like to detail every ingredient, every process, the age of liquids involved in any blending plus both short and extended notes. And, in Hay, Hops & Horehound they may have set a new record with the extended copy clocking in at 470 words. In short, it involves a family… Read more
Style
Barrel-Aged Blended Beers
ABV
5.9% & 6.6%
Bitterness
20 IBU & 19 IBU

Woolshed Brewery & Almondco Scorched Almond Porter

Tapped August 20, 2020
The Woolshed brewers in South Australian’s Riverland are well known collaborators, often working with other local artisanal producers. Local companies provide the wattle seed used in their Judas dark ale, coffee for the Firehouse Coffee stout, and a variety of fruits and juice extracts featured elsewhere. Now they can add almonds to that list, teaming up with Almondco to help them celebrate their 75th year of operation. The roasted crushed almonds were added to a sweet porter alongside organic… Read more
Style
Almond Coffee Porter
ABV
5.0%

Tallboy & Moose Un Poco Loco, Thunder Hammer & Nitro Snot Block

Tapped August 20, 2020
You really start to notice how long this lockdown’s been going when you realise that, outside of housemates and your partner, the person you see most is a sales rep from a local brewery. It also shows just how often Tallboy & Moose have been releasing new cans over the last few months, with three arriving at one time this week. Those three beers don’t come with a particularly clear drinking order either, with any traditional notion of starting with the lightest and heading to the biggest… Read more
Style
Various Styles
ABV
6.5% & 8.0% & 6.0%

Pirate Life & Sneakers & Jeans Kakadu Plum & Lemon Myrtle

Tapped August 20, 2020
Kakadu Plum has been described as Australia’s native superfood, with many unique properties, among them the highest vitamin content of any fruit and five times the antioxidant properties of blueberries. Whether these contribute any health benefits in this lemon myrtle-laden beer is unclear, however even if there's the of slightest chances, that's good enough reason to sample a can or two. In addition to the Australian adjuncts, a trio of NZ hops – Taiheke, Riwaka and Motueka – feature, although… Read more
Style
Spiced Australian Pale Ale
ABV
4.6%

Stone & Wood Counter Culture: Tequila Queen

Tapped August 19, 2020
The Queen is back. Not the Kween, mind you, rather a new Queen as Stone & Wood's Counter Culture series returns, sorta, to where it began: with a twisted playing card queen wrapped around a beer inspired by a non-beer. Whereas Killer Kween's imperial raspberry Berliner Weisse was reminiscent of a rosé, Tequila Queen is, as you might guess, their malt, water, hops and yeast (and Arette Tequila, lime juice, Cointreau, salt and American oak) take on a margarita. And, while the titular queen sports… Read more
Style
Oak-Aged Margarita Sour
ABV
7.0%
Bitterness
9 to 12 IBU
Stockists

Find your Queen here

Pirate Life Zappa IPA

Tapped August 19, 2020
Pirate Life have a good track record when it comes to singling out new hops for single hop IPA treatment, most notably when they took Mosaic – not exactly shiny and new on these shores at the time but far from its current ubiquity – and turned it into a trophy-gathering, palate-delighting monster. They've also been among the most high profile mothers of invention within the Aussie beer scene since launching a little over five years ago, a habit that, if anything, has only become more far-reaching… Read more
Style
Single Hop IPA
ABV
7.0%

Newstead Brewing [working title] Zoo V.8

Tapped August 19, 2020
Not every brewery can get on board with a barrel program. They’re expensive, unpredictable and take up space that could be jammed full of tanks full of three-week-old DDH hazy IPAs. Newstead Brewing Co have been developing their barrel program for a few years now, however, and have finally given a few of the beers a name and a release with one of the first [working title] releases the Zoo V.8 Golden Sour. Usually when we write these listings, there’s one or two cool things about the beer to focus… Read more
Style
Barrel-Aged Golden Sour
ABV
8.6%

Newstead Brewing [working title] Solera Stout 2019

Tapped August 19, 2020
The solera method was originally developed on the Iberian Peninsula by sherry and Port producers to try and maintain consistent house qualities of their products as opposed to the natural variability inherent with releasing vintages. Essentially, what happens is the product is aged in a barrel and then only a certain percentage is taken out for release with fresh product going in to replace what was taken. The fresh product takes on the characteristics of the original and therefore maintains a relatively… Read more
Style
Solera Stout
ABV
9.9%

2 Brothers Ode To 86, Imperial Growler, Choc Top Boysenberry & DK

Tapped August 18, 2020
Back in March, brewers across the country who weren't already putting most of their beers into cans or bottles began scrambling to do so as venues closed. As the pandemic settled in, more ramped up their limited release schedules as the unique nature of our current situation saw more drinkers than before – which is saying something – chasing new, new, new. It's a situation that's seen one of Melbourne's elder statesmen change their approach, temporarily at least. With their busy Beerhall closed… Read more
Style
NZ IPA, Imperial Brown & Dessert Beers
ABV
7.5% & 8.0% & 7.0% & 7.0%

Morrison Brewery Session Ale

Tapped August 18, 2020
Tasmanian brewing stalwarts Morrison Brewery, based in Launceston in the state's north, have undergone a brand refresh while moving their beers into cans. And, as they do so, they've welcomed a new beer to their core range too. Mid-strength hoppy beers can be hit and miss, with the risk you compromise body and character for the reduction in alcohol, or that a desire to pack in as much flavour as possible puts a beer out of balance. Morrison's foray into the increasingly popular space, however, has… Read more
Style
Session Ale
ABV
3.5%

Venom & Deeds Viper Pit 2020

Tapped August 17, 2020
Many, many moons ago, on a family trip to visit relos in the States, I developed a taste for their powder-based lemonade drinks. I'm pretty sure the brand I picked up wasn't great for one's teeth but it was certainly good for firing one's teenage self up with an intensely sweet, citrusy hit. And, for some reason, once the Venom and Deeds collab Viper Pit was in my glass and the head had mostly dissipated, it was to those pour, shake and quaff concoctions my mind travelled, what with its pale yellow,… Read more
Style
Hazy Double IPA
ABV
9.0%

Hawkers Dreaming Of Oats & Apollo After Dark

Tapped August 17, 2020
The oat cream IPA has become one of the defining beers of 2020. Sure, it had debuted well before the year from hell started, but we've never seen so many from so many breweries, and here Hawkers get in on the act with Dreaming Of Oats. It's a style brewers interpret in different ways and, if not careful with the lactose, can lead to an end result that's the equivalent of draining the filling from a box of after dinner fruit crèmes, with both the structure and hop character of a typical IPA smothered.… Read more
Style
DDH Oat Cream IPA & Imperial Choc Orange Stout
ABV
7.5% & 9.7%

La Sirène Oak Season

Tapped August 17, 2020
It's not that long ago that the vast majority of brewers in Australia doubted cans were the future for craft beer. Some were still investing more than a third of a million in bottling lines just a couple of years back. And yet here we are with a barrel-aged, blended wild ale inside them. What's more, it registers at not much weightier than a mid-strength. Oak Season is a beer that punches above its weight, however, with much to be discovered within this palest of liquids. It possesses a creaminess… Read more
Style
Barrel-Aged Wild Ale
ABV
4.0%

La Sirène Barrel-Aged Praline 2019

Tapped August 17, 2020
Praline is one of those beers that's steadily been creating its own little family dynasty. Not bad for a beer La Sirène's founder Costa Nikias only wanted to brew once... A few weeks after the original recipe debuted in cans, here comes another barrel-aged variant as part of the brewery's Tank 3 limited specialty series. There's a blueberry / blackberry fruitiness riding atop the base beer's familiar aroma, which is the precursor to an acidic dark berry jam like character that, if anything, intensifies… Read more
Style
Barrel-Aged Belgian Stout
ABV
6.5%

Ballistic Beer Co Coup de Grâce Imperial Stout

Tapped August 14, 2020
When Ballistic named this Coup de Grâce, were they referring to it being the finishing blow for an evening? Or were they leaning more into the literal translation, "stroke of grace", and referring to the dignity and distinction of the complex flavours within? You can decide for yourself – if you can get your hands on one of the 2,200 bottles, individually numbered and hand-dipped in wax. Coup de Grâce is Ballistic’s first barrel-aged release (and they promise many more to come), and… Read more
Style
Barrel-Aged Imperial Stout
ABV
13.9%

The Crafty Pint is an independent online magazine and resource for anyone interested in craft beer in Australia. We bring an honest, old-fashioned journalistic approach to beer's brave new world, telling stories because they're worth telling not because someone is paying us to write them.

Like many of the people who have changed the face of beer in Australia, we believe in authenticity, integrity, enjoyment and love. We hope to play a role in helping good beer, brewed by good people, find its way into the hands of more drinkers.

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